Background: School-based dental sealant programs are noted to increase sealant uptake among children, especially those from low-income families and those living in rural and underserved areas. However, nationally school-based dental sealant programs are substantially underutilized. This paper describes a partnership approach to a school-based…

Young people across California are leading the way forward socially, culturally, and politically. They are organizing for racial justice, learning and working and caring for family members during a pandemic, and voting in record numbers. The past two years with the COVID-19 pandemic has been hardest on kids, particularly children of color, in…

School Based Health Centers (SBHC) are considered by experts as one of the most effective and efficient ways to provide preventive health care to children. Few programs are as successful in delivering health care to children at no cost to the patient, and where they are: in school. For many underserved children, The Children's Aid Society's…

"A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012) recommends that science teachers provide experiences for students to see "how science and engineering pertain to real-world problems and to explore opportunities to apply their scientific knowledge to engineering design problems once this linkage is made" (NRC 2012, p. 32). To…

Maintaining oral health is central to a high quality of life because it limits the risks of disease. The oral health status of children with visual impairments should be investigated so their health care needs can be determined and preventive dental procedures can be implemented. This paper presents a study that aimed to evaluate the oral health…

Background: Pediatric dentists are too few in number to care for all children. Therefore, the level of pediatric dental services provided by general dentists, especially in rural areas, is crucial to improving the dental health of children. Purpose: The objectives of the study were to establish a baseline in regard to the quantity of pediatric…

Objective: The Tooth Smart Programme is a hospital-based parent-counselling programme established to stabilize existing carious lesions and prevent new caries in children. The purpose of this qualitative study was to: explore participating parents' experiences of and views about parent counselling; identify and describe factors that influence the…

Mail-in pilot-tested questionnaires were sent to a stratified random sample of 1,500 families from the North Carolina Autism Registry. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the significance of unmet dental needs and other predictors. Of 568 surveys returned (Response Rate = 38%), 555 were complete and usable. Sixty-five…

Tooth decay is the most prevalent chronic disease of childhood. Oral health education and dental services are crucial to reducing the number of children afflicted with dental cavities. Due to limited access to preventative care, Head Start children are particularly vulnerable to tooth decay. This article outlines practical implications of a…

Tooth decay remains the most common chronic disease of childhood. The CincySmiles Foundation (CSF) developed an instrument to evaluate Head Start parents' knowledge of oral health care practices and to identify barriers Head Start parents face when seeking dental treatment for their children. Data from Head Start parents (n = 675) across 3…

Too many California children suffer from high rates of preventable chronic conditions associated with childhood obesity and dental disease. The state is experiencing a crisis in both areas. Fortunately, common factors that contribute to both conditions--including the rates of breastfeeding, access to healthy food and the consumption of…

The oral health of children with disability is often not as good as that of other children. In view of improving their oral health, this study aims to explore the utilization of fluoride varnish services among children with disability in Taiwan and its relevant influencing factors. With children under the age of 5 as subjects, this study is…

Children with special health care needs face many barriers to oral care and are at high risk for oral disease. School nurses are in a unique position to promote oral wellness in this vulnerable population. Collaboration between school nurses and dental hygiene faculty resulted in the formation of a partnership between a university-based dental…

This brief presents highlights from rigorous, independent evaluations of the Healthy Kids programs in three California counties: Los Angeles, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. Launched by Children's Health Initiatives (CHIs) in these counties between 2001 and 2003, the three Healthy Kids programs provide children with comprehensive health insurance…

Too many parents of children with special healthcare needs come upon dental care for their child out of necessity or urgency. In order to make the relationship most beneficial, the preferred way is to establish a Dental Home during the child's infancy. The Dental Home is the oral health corollary of the Medical Home concept that the American…